New coach looks to turn around Cornell football

Any way you look at it, Cornell football was horrible last season.

The Big Red (1-9, 0-7 Ivy in 2003) had the league's worst scoring offense and defense, allowing over 30 points per game while scoring just 13.

Cornell's passing offense, turnover margin, rushing offense, rushing defense, total offense and pass efficiency were all the worst in the Ivy League, as were the Big Red's number of sacks, first downs and sacks against.

But with a new head coach at the helm, things can only get better this season in Ithaca, N.Y.

"It sounds like if we just show up we'll do better than last year," said Jim Knowles, a former Big Red player and assistant who takes over the program after spending the last few years as an assistant at Mississippi.

But Knowles is not concerned about his program's past, he's concerned with its future success.

"I haven't spent any time dwelling on last year," he said. "I wasn't here and I don't really know what happened.

"I just know that the end result [was a product of] the snowballing effect. We've all been around sports and we know momentum is a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing."

Unlike Penn, Cornell's offense features a returning offensive line and quarterback.

D.J. Busch will once again throw passes for the Big Red after he was unexpectedly thrust into the starting position last year. Cornell's primary signal caller, Mick Razzano, sustained an injury in the fourth game of the season against Harvard, and Busch assumed the duties for the remainder of the season.

In 2003, the Santee, Calif., native had the worst quarterback rating of any Ivy starter and the fewest passing yards per game.

But Knowles feels that last year's lack of success will serve as a learning experience for this season.

"D.J. has some things he can take from last year, but he also has a brand new start," Knowles said.

"We're saying to him, "Hey, you're our guy, and we're going with you,'" he added. "And that makes a quarterback feel good."

The Big Red offensive line is anchored by NFL prospect Kevin Boothe, an All-Ivy selection last season.

Boothe will look to make some holes for starting running back Joshua Johnston to run through.

In 2003, Johnston was Cornell's leading rusher, averaging 55.8 yards per game. But Johnston only played eight games last season after he was sidelined by an injury.

Knowles feels that a running game is the most important asset for a quality offense.

"When you can establish a good running game, you give your quarterback a chance to make some plays for you in the passing game," he said.

"If you can't run it, don't think that in this league you can just throw the ball and be [successful] like Texas Tech. I don't see that happening."

Defensively, Cornell returns nine starters.

Senior linebacker Brad Kitlowski, an All-Ivy honorable mention in 2003, and senior defensive lineman Ryan Lempa, an All-Ivy selection last year, will look to revamp a defense that let up an embarrassing 205 yards rushing per game last season.

Last year's top cornerback, Kyle Thomas, also returns this season, after leading a secondary that surrendered the fewest passing yards per game in the Ivy League. However, the reason for this lack of passing yards was most likely due to the fact that Cornell was so easy to run against in 2003.

Opposing teams attempted 239 passes on the Big Red last season, over 100 fewer passes than any other Ivy League school.

So when Cornell -- which was picked to finish last again this season by the Ivy media poll -- opens its season at Bucknell next Saturday, it hopes to take the first step toward success.

"This is a year the program really needs to strike back," Knowles said. "This is a program that's down right now. It's really flat."

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